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Glite Dictionary
after hours

after hours

31 3.2
At a time after normal business hours when most places are closed
  • adverb
translation icon : fuera del horario
  • The office building is locked after 6 PM, so you can't enter after hours.
  • school after hours

Don't watch Netflix, work after hours, save money, quit.

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Examples

  • Is it possible to reach you after hours in the event of an emergency or crisis?

    Blog text (11)

  • I've been doing research for you... ...after hours and weekends for over three years.

    Godzilla (1998)

  • Then you meet people at night after hours still to learn more about it.

  • We are in the middle, on the island, after hours.

    Paranormal Island (2014)

  • We try to make it a rule around here, Doctor, not to discuss our work after hours.

    This Island Earth (1955)

  • You have no idea what goes on here after hours.

    Fiction book (2001)

  • Basic and expanded programs were offered after hours from February to December 2010.

    Academic text (2012)

  • I'm taking a risk being here after hours.

    Johnny English Reborn (2011)

  • If Trudy helps out, she can practice in the pool after hours.

    Young Woman and the Sea (2024)

  • "There was something very liberating about a drink after hours," he said.

    Fiction book (1994)

Synonyms

after-work
vsafter hours
38 3.7

Happening after the workday ends

covers times outside normal business hours more broadly
after-hours
vsafter hours
20 4.4

Happening or open after the usual closing time

is a general time outside normal business or working hours
off-the-clock
vsafter hours
  • Informal
10 7.2

Work done outside paid hours without extra pay

is neutral about payment and only marks time outside business hours

Surface Forms

after hours positive

Morphology

after + hours

The meaning 'at a time outside normal business or working hours' is directly derivable from combining 'after' (later than) with 'hours' (the period when business/work occurs), so the temporal relation is compositional. This is a common, cross-linguistic pattern in temporal expressions, so an average B1 learner who knows both constituents will readily infer the MWE meaning.

Etymology

After hours comes from the simple image of a shop or office that closes at set times: when the clock goes past the usual hours you are after them and doing things later than normal. So, after hours means 'at a time that is outside normal business or working hours'.